Meet Wendy Ann Brooks, business owner of Saleh House Counselling and Training Services, East Mainland, Hunter Region, NSW
Meet Wendy Brooks, the small business owner of Saleh House Counselling & Training Services based in East Mainland, NSW. She provides counselling and therapy to victims of crime such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, childhood issues and other psychological issues or trauma.
She is also a social worker and prior to contacting Many Rivers, she was working as an Aboriginal Sexual Assault Counsellor at the New Castle Sexual Assault Services for eight years and she has also worked in the mental health sector for five years.
“My business coach from Many Rivers, Tod has been an incredible help throughout this journey. Initially, I was unsure about how to go about creating a business plan, and he provided invaluable guidance in developing it. His support extended to various aspects of my business, including clientele management and cashflow. Moreover, I feel that I am only good at what I do that is give counselling sessions but not that good at the business side of things. So, in this regard, Tod, has been a blessing for me because he has so much business knowledge and tips to give me during our weekly meetings.”
Read more about Wendy’s business journey so far:
Wendy’s Business
It is a counselling services business, and I officially started my business in August this year. I provide counselling and therapy to victims of crime such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, childhood issues and other psychological issues or trauma.
In the first month, I didn’t earn much money because victim services receive the money directly from clients and such clients don’t always pay, and sometimes crime victims don’t show up for appointments, which is a bit of a setback. Because of this, I have started exploring other options, like hosting training workshops at my house, as I don’t think my counselling services alone will cover my rent.
I feel proud of myself that I was able to initiate my business with minimal expenses and while taking care of my grandchildren. When I made the decision to start my business and establish an office space for my practice, I was working with a limited budget. To furnish my business space economically, I bought various items through Facebook Marketplace at a very affordable price.
As my business is still new, my business coach, Tod, and I are constantly brainstorming new ideas to make it grow. We have a couple of things in mind – I mentioned to him that I’d like to organize workshops on sexual abuse, and I believe there’s a lot of potential for offering training.
I am a social worker and prior to contacting Many Rivers, I was working as an Aboriginal Sexual Assault Counsellor at the New Castle Sexual Assault Services for eight years. I have also worked in the mental health sector for five years. After my long career as a social worker, I decided to take a break from hectic professional life to look after my grandchildren on a full-time basis but during this time I realised that I am still not ready to retire from work and therefore, I embarked on this business journey by starting my business, “Saleh House”.
Working with Many Rivers
Someone I know gave me Tod’s number and contacting him was the best decision I made for my business. He has been fantastic. I had no idea or clue about starting a business, but Tod made everything easy to understand and execute through his constant mentoring and coaching sessions with me.
“Tod has been an incredible help throughout this journey. Initially, I was unsure about how to go about creating a business plan, and he provided invaluable guidance in developing it. His support extended to various aspects of my business, including clientele management and cashflow. Moreover, I feel that I am only good at what I do that is give counselling sessions but not that good at the business side of things. So, in this regard, Tod, my business coach from Many Rivers has been a blessing for me because he has so much business knowledge and tips to give me during our weekly meetings.”
Did you get a loan from MR?
I received a loan from Many Rivers which really helped me get my space to officially start my in-person counselling sessions. Finances were tight, and I needed to secure a suitable location for my counselling services. With Tod’s assistance, I was able to identify the right space and secure a $10,000 loan through Many Rivers. He also provided insights into the number of clients required to turn a profit and offered guidance on optimizing cashflow. Additionally, I was fortunate to tap into the potential client base in the Newcastle and Hunter region, thanks to my previous networks. Clients from these connections were also directed to my services, further boosting my business.
Do you have any current employees?
I do have a part-time bookkeeper who does the accounting side of work for my business. Other than her, I am mostly managing my business on my own and my sister helps me from time to time.
Biggest Challenge
One of the challenges that I face is that I need to look after of my grandchildren full-time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and half-time on the rest of the days so I can only work between 9 am to 1 pm on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. As a result of this limited time schedule, I am just averaging 10 referrals/clients per week and that is not enough to meet the rent and other business expenses.
Another thing that’s tough in this business is making sure clients come every week, and I’m also worried about getting enough clients for the future. My goal is to have 15 clients every week, but I’m not there yet. To help with this, I’ve decided to work a full day on Fridays. It’s a real challenge to find 15 clients every week and pay for the counselling space I use.
One useful tip that I received from Tod to tackle my challenges is to stick to the things that I am good at and get someone to come and do the things I am not good at. He told me that there is no point spending hours and hours on trying to understand bookkeeping when it is not my area of expertise. This is the reason why I hired a part-time bookkeeper to sort out my business’s cashflow/invoices every month.
Biggest Success
My biggest accomplishment is having a strong support system within the Aboriginal community and a large, close-knit family with six sisters and four brothers, all living nearby, who provide me with invaluable assistance.
In addition to this, my ability to attract clients without difficulty has been a major success. Furthermore, the networking and referrals I’ve received have played a pivotal role in my achievements. Another important aspect of my success is having a comfortable and secure space where I can provide counselling to people.
Furthermore, the freedom to be my own boss and maintain a healthy work-life balance has been a significant achievement.
Biggest Change
The biggest change has been shouldering the responsibility of running a business and the challenge of managing it effectively. This shift has had a profound impact on both me and my family as we strive to strike a balance between work and home life. One more thing I have realised is that running a business is not easy, there is lots of counselling paperwork that I need to read through along with managing invoicing and adding my clients and their records to the system.
Future Goals
I guess my business goals keep evolving due to a variety of ideas that keep coming to my mind. Also, regular discussions with my business coach, Tod, have led to future plans on how to increase my cash flow in the long run. Additionally, I’ve been diligently working on counselling reports for the justice department, and it is my goal to take this on as a long-term commitment. Moreover, I am also working on another idea to have the two rooms rent out to other social workers to see their clients and that will allow me to improve my cashflow and easily manage my business needs/expenses.
Furthermore, in the future I also plan to start training workshops and establish my business website and create a presence on various social media platforms.
Thank you, Wendy, for sharing your business journey with us. We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavours and business success.
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